1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally pertains to safety devices for boaters, and more particularly to tethering devices for preventing boat occcupants from being accidentally thrown overboard and separated from the craft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Great emphasis has been placed upon boating safety in recent years, both in development of new safety devices and in educating the boating public to utilize such devices. Despite the best efforts of boating safety experts, many lives continue to be lost each year in boating incidents which are preventable. Thus, many of the lives could be saved if boat occupants would utilize existing safety devices. For example, the wearing of a conventional life jacket will in most cases buoy up a wearer who falls into the water until he can be rescued. Such jackets do not, however, prevent the wearer from becoming separated from the boat in the event he falls into the water, and this can be a serious problem, particularly where the individual is alone in the boat. More importantly, conventional life jackets are cumbersome and restrictive in nature, and thus boaters tend to not wear them even though they are present in the boat.
In order to prevent a boat occupant from becoming separated from the boat in the event he falls overboard. U.S. Pat. No. 2,878,981 disloses a life chain having one end anchored to the boat and the other extending around the waist of the user. A gathering or retracting mechanism is affixed to the chain to eliminate excess slack between the user and the anchor point, and thus prevent the loose chain from becoming entangled in the bottom of the boat. While such a device is good in theory, it is likewise cumbersome and restrictive, and has not gained acceptance by boaters. To be effective, safety devices must not only function for their intended purpose, but must also be sufficiently comfortable and convenient as to not deter people from using them.